Black Nature
by Dear Aunt Elladora
Summary: For the first time without Andromeda and the fourth without Sirius, the three remaining Black cousins Narcissa, Bellatrix, and Regulus spend Christmas together. Lines are being drawn for the upcoming war. [Blackfic]


_"May this moment of clarity_

_lift this curse that has been cast upon them."_

**- The Atari's, Eight to Nine**

Starlight barely lit the vacant room in Grimmauld Place. It was Christmas eve, the first Christmas without Andromeda. It was a sour time for the Blacks, the children falling apart fast. The three that remained in this time of choosing sides for the upcoming war, Bellatrix and Narcissa and Regulus, had chosen a living room to rest for the night as a party went on in the upper ball room.  
  
But it was four in the morning, and Regulus had rushed the vancant room, supressing a scream. Regulus felt the searing pain in his fore arm, such fire that he became very faint. Holding a hand to his arm, he crumbled to his knees.  
  
"Reggie?" A strangled cry from the entrance of the room, causing the boy's clenched eyes to pop open.  
  
"Oh, oh Merlin, Reggie. What?" Narcissa rushed over, crept beside the boy as he held his arm.  
  
"Narcissa." a shadow was cast on the two as Bellatrix stood in the doorway.  
  
"Oh, Bella, thank God. Its Reggie, he's sick or something."  
  
"Narcissa," Bellatrix repeated, "It'd be best if you headed downstairs. I'll take care of Regulus."  
  
Narcissa looked over her sister's face in confusion, but it was Christmas and a fight with Bellatrix was the last thing they needed, so she gathered herself from the floor and strolled toward the door.  
  
"Whatever you say, Bella." She said through clenched teeth, looking back worriedly at Regulus before continuing down the hall.  
  
Bellatrix cast a dirty look toward Regulus, who was sitting on the floor, breathing heavily, and looking up at Bellatrix in fear.  
  
"Rise up, fool."  
  
"Bella," he hissed, "Its never hurt this bad."  
  
"We've got a party to attend to downstairs."  
  
"Does your's burn as well? Usually mine's tolerable."  
  
"Regulus. You know nothing of intolerable pain."  
  
"Like Hell! Don't think I'm weak, Bella. It just - it was this horrible flash of pain. I'm better now, really." Grimacing, he rose, slowly taking his hand off his arm.  
  
"I can think what I wish."  
  
"Don't tell Master. It was just momentary, anyway. I don't even feel it now."  
  
"Mine always burns, Regulus. Every minute of every hour of every day. Don't talk to me about momentary. Don't be cautious on what I plan on saying, He knows. Downstairs, now."  
  
Regulus nodded, heading for the door and going out. Bellatrix closed it behind her and darkness slid back into the vacant bed room.  
  
The two arrived back in the study in moment's time, Narcissa sat up but was laying back down on the floor to sleep, noting Regulus' healthy return. Bellatrix and Regulus retook their sleeping places, and within moments, the silence of sleep rested over the room. Regulus would occasionaly whimper and call out in his sleep, however.

"Bellatrix." A cold voice called through the room and Bellatrix, who was wide awake, rolled on her stomach to face the startling gray eyes of Narcissa, flaming with anger.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Don't play innocent, you've never done it before and by Hell I won't stand for it now. Wench. I thought about it. He's one of you, isn't he? One of you Death Feeders. He's a child, Bella. What are you doing? You and that Riddle character, acting like fools. It's Reggie, quiet little reserved Reggie."  
  
"Regulus does what he wishes Narcissa, he's not a child."  
  
"Oh you'd like to think that, but all you've done is take him further into a world of Black and white, farther than Aunt Eugenia could've dreamed. You've not only taken his innocence but slaughtered it."  
  
"I have done nothing of the sort. I listen to his requests, I did not slaughter anything. And like you don't live in a reincarnation of what's black and what's white."  
  
"Stop it. I've seen that tattoo on Lucius' arm. It's bloody disgusting."  
  
"Ah, Lucius. Andromeda's old Lucius? I've been meaning to ask you that since you're engaged to Malfoy what it felt like having another thing handed down from Andromeda. So what does it feel like? Knowing that that black diamond on your finger was sized for her originally, knowing the lips you kissed savoured hers first?"  
  
"Don't say her name. I don't wish to hear anymore about her. You're just like Sirius, you know, being a royal pain in the ass and fighting dirty with low blows."  
  
"It's the nature of the Blacks, Narcissa. Who are you fighting for?"  
  
Narcissa shot Bellatrix a cold glare as Bellatrix turned back, sliding lower into her covers. Narcissa slid the ring off her finger and twirled it, letting the moon splash down on it and causing it to shimmer. It was time she decided who she was fighting for.

* * *

**Author's note:** got inspired by reading some Fiction Alley work. The children are falling apart from a rather immaculate foursome. Note their insults to one another are based off the two dissapeared cousins. Plus on the TABU board a question was whether Narcissa/Bellatrix or Bellatrix/Andromeda faught more, and it bothered me that everyone seemed to think it was Bella/Meda. So some against-the-grain Narcissa is found here. You can tell by this that Narcissa was borderlined, gasp. And so by her marriage to Lucius I made her decision to fight like a Black. Narcissa came out alot like Andromeda. Hm. And though it doesn't seem like it, Bellatrix is younger than Narcissa. Powerful little wench she is. Heh. The song quote at the beginning is kind of ironic, the moment where Narcissa considers her life is bad in attempt to raise the curse of forever being a Black. But o'course, she doesn't lift it. Mwahaha. Erm too much diolauge, too narrative. May rewrite where it's Narcissa's emotional reaction to Regulus.

**_Review, please!_**


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